Any indications of an impending recession in the United States are difficult to see in Bank of America’s quarterly earnings report, which was released on Monday.
The country’s second-largest bank made $7.1 billion in earnings in the third quarter, an 8% decrease from the previous year but more than analysts expected. Consumer deposits increased by 1%, but credit card spending increased by 13%.
Alastair Borthwick, the bank’s chief financial officer, stated that Bank of America’s retail users appeared to be in a good position.
“Overall, people are resilient and continue to spend at an increased rate,” Borthwick said on a conference call with reporters on Monday. “They’re paying down their loan balances at high interest rates while still having the opportunity to borrow.”
According to Borthwick, the 9% annual growth rate in consumer expenditure, down from 12% earlier in the year, was the sole indication that a change might be in the works.
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Borthwick noted that even while the bank increased its reserve of money by $378 million to cover possible loan losses, it was still a healthy sign because it indicated that the bank was expanding its lending rather than a decline in the quality of the loans that were already on its books.
On Wall Street, Bank of America’s sales and trading revenue increased by 13%. Bond, commodity, and other financial interest trading revenue increased by 27% over the same period in 2017, while stock trading revenue decreased by 4%.
Investment banking fees accounted for 46% of total revenue. However, the bank increased its revenue from providing worldwide transaction services to large corporations by 44%, and its loan and lease balances among large corporate customers increased by 18%.
Borthwick stated that the “negative impact of foreign currency valuations” has harmed some of the bank’s global customers.
Bank of America’s stock climbed more than 2% in premarket trading. Its profits matched those of Citigroup, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo, showing the lenders planning for a possible slowdown but reporting strong results as customers continued to spend.
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